I can't believe that the other card companies didn't have an intervention for Fleer in the late 1990s when they staggered into the apartment one night with their newest floozy Circa. Look at this hot mess. The giant gradient last-name letters. The ubiquitous silver foil. The horrendous day-glo polygon background. The banal athlete quote in italics. (Gee, I always wondered what Scott Erickson thought of the grass at Camden Yards!) This loud cardboard vomit brand lasted all of three years, which is about three years too many. The next time you lament the loss of Fleer, just remember: they might have had it coming.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Scott Erickson, 1997 Circa #245
I can't believe that the other card companies didn't have an intervention for Fleer in the late 1990s when they staggered into the apartment one night with their newest floozy Circa. Look at this hot mess. The giant gradient last-name letters. The ubiquitous silver foil. The horrendous day-glo polygon background. The banal athlete quote in italics. (Gee, I always wondered what Scott Erickson thought of the grass at Camden Yards!) This loud cardboard vomit brand lasted all of three years, which is about three years too many. The next time you lament the loss of Fleer, just remember: they might have had it coming.
Yuck--that is one ugly card. My "break" from the hobby was from 1994-2007, so I hadn't seen these cards until now. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteMatt - Yeah, I drifted out around 1997 and didn't come back full-bore until 2007. The only products I would have liked to have collected during my absence were Topps Heritage and All-Time Fan Favorites, I'm thinking.
ReplyDelete"They have 45,000 fans a night..."
ReplyDelete:-(
True story: My roommate danced with Scott Erickson at Have a Nice Day Cafe. Albert Belle was also there but he wouldn't talk to her. Sadly I did not get to witness this.
I love your opening sentence, it's like poetry...if Circa was the drunken stupor, wouldn't that make Fleer Focus the hangover? I hated that set.
ReplyDeleteSeemed like a good idea at the time? Other than that, not really sure how they would explain it. I guess when you get it right 8 times out of 10 you get it wrong 2 times out of 10. One of these times?
ReplyDeleteStacey - Yeah, I felt a twinge when I saw the 45,000 number quoted. Different times.
ReplyDeleteWilliam - Focus was kind of pointless, but Tradition bugs me more. They had one or two nice designs, but the last few years (2004 and 2005) were absolute crap.
Mr. P - I suppose so. "Hey, it was the 90s" might be the best they could do.